Policy Primer: The National Popular Vote Proposal – A Step Away from Federalism and a Step Towards Chaos

This Policy Primer briefly reviews and summarizes five key shortcomings of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPV) and debunks the four most common myths associated with this plan for electing the President, which is quietly being signed onto in state legislatures across the country. The NPV proposal is an attempt to get states to agree to a compact whereby each state would cast its Electoral votes in favor of the candidate who wins the national popular vote. This would effectively replace the Electoral College with a national popular election, without requiring a constitutional amendment.

The National Popular Vote (NPV) proposal would fundamentally shift how our nation elects the President. While many well-intentioned individuals and organizations support this cause and compelling arguments can be made in its favor, the NPV plan ultimately represents a scheme that creates more problems than it purports to solve and would largely fail to achieve the outcomes desired by its proponents.

Once the equivalent of 270 electoral votes are obtained by signees of the Compact, the winner of the U.S. Presidential Election would go to the winner of the national popular vote — and not the winner of the Electoral College — regardless of the objections of those states which have not signed onto the Compact.